Hillary Clinton says it takes a village. But first the village has to eat. In my book, it takes a kitchen. Come and discover why food is part of everything we do, and just like romance, is most often enjoyed with and binds us to others. Along the way, I will tease you into discovering the science and philosophy that will help you seduce the lover, impress the boss, build the family and change the community. And we will probably get to share some recipes on this journey...

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Summer gives us some of our fondest food memories.We remember those meals we ate at home over a
summer vacation.Our moms made us lunch,
and we ate in the backyard or with friends without teacher supervision,
cafeteria trays, or food from ice cream scoops.We ate outside, maybe next to a pool or in a park.We didn’t have to quickly eat so we could get
back to class.On the weekends
neighborhoods filled with the smell of grills.Burgers, hot dogs, baked beans and chips brought people together.And for many, whatever we ate then holds some
special place for us now.We may have
become foodies and turn our nose up at certain ingredients or
combinations.Maybe we are health
conscious and have sworn off certain foods.But when that special memory pops up we cannot help but indulge that
summer treat.I have a few summer foods
I’d like to share, but be sure to share yours here too. Mine are not complex, fancy, foodie treats - they're foods kids love and can make for themselves.

Macaroni Salad – Ubiquitous no doubt, but like Thanksgiving
Day stuffing, your family’s is always best and different from everyone else’s.My mom’s was simply elbow macaroni, Miracle
Whip, a touch of ketchup, some paprika and as much chopped red onion as you can
handle.On a summer day the coolness of
the mayo mixed with the crunch of the onions was sheer perfection and was
absolutely the taste of summer.It was served in the same green bowl each
year and the leftovers would feed me for days it seemed.The second day the onions would start to
color the macaroni and mayo pink.When I
make it now I am the only one who eats it, and I don’t mind a bit.

Cucumber Sandwich – This is so simple and anti-foodie it
cracks me up, but I love it.Peel a
cucumber, and slice it as thin or as thick as you like. Smear Miracle Whip on a couple slices of white
bread – and Wonder Bread really is perfect.Place as many cucumber slices as you like on the bread, top it with the
other slice and eat up.The cucumber
slides around, and its juices mix with the mayo requiring you to eat quickly or
make a giant mess.Eventually the bread
will become gooey if you aren’t fast enough, and it will undoubtedly stick to
the roof of your mouth.A cold root beer
is the best solution. The crispness of
the cucumber, coolness of the mayo, and texture of the whole sloppy mess is
exquisitely summer.Little triangles of
perfectly uniform finger sandwiches at some Brit themed lawn party be damned.

Tomato Sandwich – See above, but with tomatoes and some
salt.But eat faster; tomatoes are
juicier.And this can be dressed up a
bit with a crusty, stronger bread, even a toasted sourdough.And of course you can keep going and turn it
into a BLT.And if you must, take it a
California step further and add a perfectly ripe, creamy avocado.But now we’re treading too close to becoming
high maintenance foodies.That said,
find a good tomato.When we were kids
heirloom tomatoes were simply tomatoes.These insipid pink things at the grocery store didn’t exist yet, so it’s
okay to get all ‘foodie” on this one.Keep
it simple and the kids can make their own.The juices running down their arms as they eat will just make them
giggle.

Iceberg Salad – One summer late in grade school I think I
ate this a few times a week.One head of
iceberg lettuce, one can of drained red kidney beans, some bacon bits and blue cheese
dressing.Done.Crispy crunchiness mixed with cool creaminess
– that’s summer.

Orange Creamsicle – Every summer lunch needs a dessert and
to me there is no finer in the summer sun than an orange creamsicle.Yes, vacationing in New England next week, I
will indulge my cravings for ice cream most evening, but the brightness of the
orange and the creamy richness of the cream are unmatched in the heat of the
day.For a while Goose Island Brewing in
Chicago was making an Orange Cream soda that was a liquefied version, but there’s
still nothing like the real thing, sitting on cement stairs thinking about what
to do next with your summer vacation.What are your favorite summer food memories?

Friday, July 19, 2013

Do you remember when you discovered the joy of cooking or the
pleasures of a particular food?

I know my first real interest in cooking came in the summer
between fourth and fifth grades.My mom
made it pretty clear; if I wanted to eat certain things I needed to cook
them.She didn’t say this in a mean or
sarcastic way at all.She was just
inviting me to be self-sufficient.I’m
glad she did because I clearly love to cook now.

But my first memory of eating a specific processed,
manufactured food was entirely different.My family moved to Luxembourg just before I started seventh grade.It was a dramatic change, needless to say,
from living in northeast Georgia.Among
the lifestyle shifts was taking the city bus to school.I walked down the street through a grocery
store parking lot and got bus number ten each morning, often in the dark and
went off to an international school with fewer kids in the junior high and high
school than in my entire sixth grade back in Georgia.In the afternoon, the trip home frequently
meant hanging out with classmates downtown before making my way to the
bus.Even once back in the neighborhood
a stroll through the grocery store, the Cactus, was often necessary for a little
snack before heading home and doing homework.Another American family lived in the area and their kids, a few years
older than me, often rode the same bus.One
afternoon early in seventh grade we all wandered through the grocery store
together.I have no idea what I was
buying, but in the checkout lane one of the other Americans picked up some
candy (do checkout lanes the world over all have candy?) and suggested I try one.I’ll try anything so I grabbed one.In fact, it was four individually wrapped
candies in clear cellophane.Once into
the parking lot the other kid gave me the necessary instructions.

“Ok, you can’t just bite into these.They’re filled with liquid so you have to put
the whole thing in your mouth or be careful.”

I unwrapped one bright pink wrapper and held a small dark
chocolate block in my hand.I popped it
into my mouth and bit in.Wow!A seriously alcoholic juice filled my mouth
as I bit through the chocolate and into a soft cherry.I choked like, well, like a kid trying any
strong liquor would.

Ok, now I knew what to expect.Time for another one.I unwrapped it and looked at it carefully.It obviously had a very thin chocolate shell,
one easily crushed if not careful.I
popped this second one into my mouth but bit into it much more slowly.The liquor leaked out slowly.It tasted delicious, but strong.The chocolate almost seemed to evaporate.The cherry was soft and soaked in booze.I let the flavors swirl and knew then that I
had eaten something spectacular and completely unknown in the States. I had a new love, Mon Cheri.For the next several months I bought these
beautiful little chocolates as often as I could.After a while I shared these at home.I am pretty sure my mother was horrified that
her 12 year old son was coming home popping these things like over grown
M&Ms, but I guess European libertarianism had gotten under her skin.She never forbade me from eating them.

Mon
Cheri, that’s what this candy was called, is actually filled with kirsch
liquor and a Portuguese cherry and is manufactured by the Italian chocolate
giant, Ferrero.You probably know them
as the makers of Nutella.Manufactured
since 1956, the Mon Cheri is the flagship product of Ferrero, even if they sell
more of their other products.Exceptionally difficult to get in the States, I never stop looking.I found them once at the Christkindlmarket in Daley
Square one Christmas in Chicago.I
bought a significant stash.One bite and
I was instantly transported to the Cactus parking lot.On trips to Europe since I have found them,
most often in duty free shops.An
Italian friend tells me they are almost impossible to find in the summer time
(I’m a teacher and most often travel in the summer) because they melt and cause
quite a mess.She even suggested they
weren’t even made in the summer.What is
it with me and chocolates only available
in the winter?

Alas, Mon Cheri, we were meant to love years ago and allowed
only a few fleeting, clandestine rendez-vous since. A bientot.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

I recently had the opportunity to visit Minneapolis.After attending a few years of college over
in St. Paul (at the wonderfully liberal and global, Macalester College), I had
not been to the Twin Cities in a very long time.A short visit in June reminded me why I loved
the area, but I must admit, it was awfully nice to be there in late June and
not November through March.As is the
case with all my travels, I made sure food took center stage.Here’s a brief rundown of my dining
experiences.

Brit's Pub – I spent
much of two afternoons at Brits working on my book.On day one I sampled the Scotch eggs.Oh my, they were soooo good.Crisp on the outside, just spicy enough to
wake up dreary taste buds and perfectly cooked eggs.A couple hoppy IPAs recommended by my server
and a few hours later, I had fallen in love with the place even if I had not
written as much as I had hoped.The next
day I committed to drinking water and root beer – I had to get work done – but
had to sample the cod bites.True to a
good pub, the fish was great.More
important to me on days like these was the accommodating staff.I love feeling as though they truly don’t
mind me taking up some space and dropping lots of money.In these situations I am always inspired to
tip particularly well.So thank you
staff at Brit’s for your patience and your recommendations.A word about décor…If you are looking for a
British pub, you’ve found it.A
fireplace downstairs that features a shrine to the royal family, soccer and
rugby on the tube, appropriate pub grub, and rooftop lawn bowling…what can I
say?

Loring Kitchen and
Bar– Just on the north edge of
Loring Park in downtown Minneapolis sits a quiet, comfortable restaurant with a
diverse menu, trendy, cool interior and sidewalk seating perfect for passing a
summer afternoon.We had a couple
drinks, cauliflower fritters, quinoa and black bean sliders and walleye
sliders.Every bite was delicious.The flavors in the sliders popped with
freshness and made wonderful afternoon snacks.Though not exactly on a thoroughfare, the park across the street
provided for good people watching.In
the evening we have to assume this place is very hip.

The Local – Nicolett
Mall`s other ode to the traditional pub (a few blocks north of Brit’s) has a
more Irish theme and a very lively evening culture.The atmosphere of this place is something
special.A gigantic back bar, multiple
snugs, including one called the Kissing Booth and an overwhelmingly dark,
intimate interior, the place feels like the kind of place I would love to call
my local.The food is also
excellent.The quinoa salad had some of
the creamiest avocado and the fish and chips met all expectations for a good
pub.Service was great.The only reason I didn’t spend some writing
time her was the lack of wall plugs for my laptop.

Bar La Grassa –
This place is special and precisely the sort of place I look for.At 8:30 there was a 45 minute wait unless we
wanted to sit at the kitchen bar and watch the work.That was right up our alley.But this speaks to the popularity of the
place.The music was hip, and the décor
respected the history of its warehouse setting.There were guests dressed in coat and tie and others in jeans and all
seemed comfortable.However, as every
big city has seen in recent years, it’s easy to make a place hip and comfy and
not so easy to support that with quality food and great service.BLG need to worry.From the moment we took our seats at the far
side of the kitchen we were treated to amiable, helpful, very well-informed
service.We were first treated to an
amuse bouche of marinated gigante beans that were flavorful and bright.This served to heighten our expectations for
the rest of our meal, and we were not disappointed.Our server poured my wife’s wine, but then
poured another small glass of her second choice wine just so she could try it.We sampled a bruschettawith white anchovies and avocado and a crispy
salad saporoso – both truly excellent.Next I had to try the carbonara.This too, though not as great as Salt Lake City’s Vivace, was delicious
and creamy.Our server explained that
they are prepping the eggs for carbonara using sous vide.I love that he knew this and that the chef is
looking for ways to safely stay committed to traditional carbonara in light of
most Americans’ squimishness with “raw” eggs.My wife had the pasta negra (black pasta made with squid ink) and sea
urchin, mussels and tomato.Exquisite…one of the most delicious pastas I’ve had in a long time.For dessert we tried the house made
limoncello – also very flavorful, but maybe a touch thin.By the time we were done much of the
restaurant was empty.The hostess
offered to call a cab if one wasn’t on the corner, but that wasn’t a
problem.A wonderful evening marked by
all the elements of a great meal – great, knowledgeable and warm service,
casual, comfortable atmosphere and excellent food.

Key's at Foshay Tower– Looking for a typical diner
breakfast?This is it.Keys feels like it’s been here forever, the
sorts of place that politicians and journalists shared stories off the record
over coffee and cigarettes 60 years ago.Breakfast here can be as large and artery-clogging or as simple and
healthy as you like.The sausage patty
satisfied any craving for grease and spice I needed for June.The oatmeal hit the spot, warmed the
soul.My egg was cooked perfectly with a
runny yolk, but crispy burnt edges.Efficient service showed just the sort of warmth to out-of-towners that
makes a diner a perfect place for breakfast.

Zelo – For those unfamiliar
with Minneapolis, Nicolett Mall is a wiggly downtown street made so to slow
traffic and encourage pedestrian meandering.It is lined with shops and restaurants, many on the second floors
accessible by skyways – elevated sidewalks that connect most of downtown (it
gets very cold during Minnesota’s very long winter).Those restaurants at street level virtually
all have sidewalk seating in the summer along Nicolette, and it must be one of
Minneapolis’ true gifts.And perhaps by
virtue of those long, frigid winters, the sidewalk seating is exceptionally
popular all summer.We took in one of
the most inviting of the sidewalk seating areas and ate at Zelo.Zelo sits at a busy intersection featuring a
bus stop and Target’s flagship store; the people watching is superb.We tried four dishes, the fried calamari, ahi
spring roll, salad Brasiliana and lemongrass crabcakes.The calamari was very lightly breaded and
tender.The spring roll was beautifully
presented and so delicious it was hard not to come back to Zelo again just for
that.The Brasiliana was crisp and
bright with hearts of palm and bib lettuce, one of the best restaurant salads I
have had in a long time.And the
crabcakes…filled with flavor, filled with crab and amazing.In fact, they may be the best crabcakes I’ve
had – and certainly the best I’ve had anywhere more than 10 miles from the
ocean.As delicious as the food was, the
service was actually better.Lauren, our
server, recognized our pace and let us linger between courses, just as we
wished.When we asked her for places to
see, drink spots, live music spots and other places to eat on our visit she was
warm, welcoming and helpful.In fact,
she was the first one to mention Bar La Grassa.She was a great ambassador for her city.Furthermore, our server truly made the experience at Zelo memorable –
thank you.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

I have posted and
promoted this before, but I would love to again in the interest of growth.If you have gone online to find a restaurant
in a city you’re planning to visit, this site or app is for you.Come check this out...and I look forward to
seeing you over there.

Come sign up for
LikeStream because you want great restaurant recommendations from the friends
and experts you trust and want to hear from. Who better than a passionate local
with a point of view, to help you discover more hidden gems?

LikeStream has a couple knowledgeable
and adventurous local foodie experts to help you in your quest for new dining
experiences.

Michelle Syracuse is the author of a tasteful blog called Gather365. With the motto of "Go forth, Gather, Eat good
food", she engagingly narrates her dining experiences in and around
Oakland and San Francisco. Best way to describe Michelle's choices and reviews
- down-to-earth, warm and thoughtful.

Mark Janda is the author of a thought-provoking blog
called It Takes A Kitchen. Mark is a history teacher with a penchant
for exploring new food and dining, so you can imagine the learning and
adventure that comes from following his reviews around his hometown of Santa
Cruz, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Europe.

Sign-in, go to our "foodies &
friends" page and follow them from our "famous foodies" tab to
see their reviews in your search results.

p.s. A local expert foodie yourself? or know of one? Just let us know, we would love to promote you or your friend on our
famous foodies page!

For the bio and photo, just go to the "Settings" page and click on
"More about you!" to add a photo and a short bio (six words or less!)

For the reviews, set the "Where" field to the appropriate city e.g.
San Francisco and then search for your restaurant by name.When you find it, click on “Rate It” and you’ll
see a window allowing you to enter a short or long entry.Hit Save and you’re all set.

Come on over and take a look around.If you find features you like, let me
know.If you don’t find features you’d
like to see, let me know.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

How on earth have two months gone by without a post?I guess May and June are my busiest
times.We have celebrated a first
communion, multiple birthdays, Mothers’ Day, and the end of the school year all
followed by a ten-day business trip, a five-day leisure trip during which I
spent most of my time working on the book, another four-day trip spent with
family and time at home catching up on house things.Wow…now I am tired.But I am back and the posts will start again.

My first trip was to Salt Lake City.This was my second prolonged visit to SLC,
and I must admit to being pleasantly surprised again.It’s a place of weird dichotomies.On the one the one hand, you have sizeable
city with a vast business/industrial area stretching for miles from downtown
past the airport to the west and sprawling, faceless suburbs to the south.But to the east, beautiful mountains in which
you can have yourself thousands of feet higher and feet in the snow faster than
from virtually any large city in America.The physical beauty of the area is striking, the city spotless and
compact enough for easy walking, even if the roads are freakishly wide.The people are also an interesting mix of
youthful, progressive and inked and conservative, traditional and Mormon.What you may have heard about SLC being dry
or at least needing a membership to drink in bars – false.Rolling up the sidewalks at sunset – false.Nothing to do or eat after dark – false.The truth is, I really like SLC, and I ate
quite well.Here’s a quick rundown of my
culinary highlights…

Squatters
Pub – So you thought Salt Lake would be bereft of brew pubs and beer meccas,
uh?It’s not at all.Don’t get me wrong, it’s not Portland or San
Diego, but it does have a few.Squatters
must be the largest.Housed in a
gigantic building it features two levels each with large bars and seating for
seemingly hundreds.Downstairs feels
like your average sports bar, while upstairs offers some great views of the
mountains and a smaller, more intimate bar and fewer TVs.The beer has the typical assortment from a
lighter pilsner, a reasonably hoppy IPA and a rich stout and stops along the
spectrum.They do nothing extreme, but
do what they do well.The food is
typical bar food, also good.I am
partial to the Ahi spring rolls.

The Bayou – This place
is something special for beer fans, in fact they call themselves Beervana.Just south of the immediate downtown area, it’s
housed in an old warehouse and features a Cajun and Creole theme and global
beer selection.Want to see the folks
the Mormons rejected?You will see them
here.Live music and spicy food brings
out the area’s version of counter culture (again, this isn’t Portland).The food is delicious; I am partial to the
oyster po’ boy, but you won’t go wrong.Beer selection makes this one of America’s great places to tour the brewing
world without leaving your seat.And if
you’re committed to trying the locals when you travel, this place has them all.

Gracie's – Gracie’s
is the one place downtown at which you are virtually guaranteed to see a crowd
every single night.Two great patios,
one upstairs with a view to the east, live music and good food draw in the
young crowd.Food and drink are both
good and reasonably priced.I can’t stop
eating their nachos.

The Green Pig – The
Pig, with its TVs, live music and its upstairs patio, is a true, blue collar
bar with appropriate name, lots of activity, diverse crowd, excellent service and
an awesome Cuban pork sandwich.

Beerhive – Utah is the Beehive state, and the beehive motif
abounds everywhere you look.Right
downtown, perfectly placed to be a happy hour watering hole for businesspeople,
politicians, bureaucrats and tourists alike, is the drinkers’ play on a theme,
the Beerhive.Has some feel of an
old-fashioned, Old West barroom, with upscale drinks, good beer selection and
good service.The novelty ice bar will
keep your drinks cool if you opt to sit there.Ask for some Utah-distilled Underground and relax.

Vivace
– Vivace is one of my great surprises in SLC.Nestled into a car dealership in an old neighborhood going through new
development and revitalization on the west side of downtown, Vivace’s setting
will transport you to hip neighborhoods of NYC or San Francisco with the
authentic cuisine of Italy.Casual with
seating along large windows that roll up when the weather demands or at a bar
so you can watch the kitchen, you will quickly recognize that this place is all
about fresh, delicious, flavorful food.Go with a prix fixe, and you will get a proper sampling of all this
place can do.As a “collector” of
carbonara, Vivace’s is among the most authentic I have had in the States – no peas,
no cream – just eggs and pancetta.Grilled veggies and chicken were amazing.This is a must stop for the Italiaphile.

Cannella's – A hip hangout with great
food.Greeted by a man with a handle bar
mustache, bowler hat and inked sleeves, I sat at a table with two friends on
their delightful sidewalk and had a refreshing beer, excellent antipasti plate
and a chopped salad with anchovies added…and all tasted great, served with a
charming smile.Great menu littered with
clever quotes.My favorites…

“ALCOHOL MAY BE A MANS WORST ENEMY, BUT THE BIBLE SAYS LOVE YOUR ENEMY.”-
FRANK SINATRA

“YOUR BODY IS NOT A TEMPLE, IT IS AN AMUSEMENT PARK, ENJOY THE RIDE!” -
ANTHONY BOURDAIN

It was a near-perfect
post-ride, late dinner.I need to visit
again.

Rio Grande Cafe
– In a refurbished train station to the west of downtown, Rio Grande is
historic and quirky.Check out the
Chick-in Taco over the bar.Inexpensive
Mexican food, family-friendly with great service.It’s not a SoCal Taqueria, but it satisfied a
craving.

Ruth's Diner – One of
the oldest restaurants in the state and made famous on Diners, Drive-in and Dives, this spot is well outside of
downtown.In fact, it’s out past the
University and the Zoo on your way up Emigration Canyon.If you’re a cyclist and wander past here on
your way up the canyon you will smell the kitchen before your round the
corner.Then you’ll see the overcrowded
lot and the cars parked on the shoulder across the street.After you climb 2000 feet and 20 miles later
you’ll come screaming past in the other direction good and hungry.Take a shower, head back in a car, and you’ll
replace the calories you burned.Great
chicken fried steak, excellent diner food, charming service, quirky atmosphere
decorated with flamingos…why?Don’t ask…just
eat!You’ll be so glad.

Thanks, Salt Lake City for a great time this year.See you again next June.

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About Me

I am a native New Englander, but I have lived across the country and in Europe and now live in California. I am a father, husband and cook, a high school history teacher, avid cyclist, reluctant runner, and traveler.